Families hear North Ridgeville Schools' complete reopening plan at meeting

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Families were presented with the complete "Ranger Restart" plan Tuesday evening at the North Ridgeville Schools Board of Education meeting after a summary of the plan was released last week. As previously announced, students will have the option of learning at home through a virtual-only option or returning to the brick-and-mortar buildings on a hybrid schedule. But students who opt for the in-person option will still find themselves spending a lot of time learning on the computer, with the number of days in the classroom varying by grade level. The plan has high school students attending just one day of in-person classes each week. Students will report to school Wednesdays and be split between the high school and nearby North Ridgeville Academic Center. Instruction will be online the other four weekdays. Meanwhile, kindergartners through eighth graders will attend school in person on either Mondays and Tuesdays or Thursdays and Fridays, depending on whether they are divided into "Group A" or "Group B" based on where they live in the city. The other days will consist of online learning. Students in prekindergarten will attend school in person every weekday except Wednesday for either the morning or afternoon hours. Not having students back in the classroom full time will be inconvenient for some families, the board acknowledged, but President Frank Vacha said the plan was created with safety in mind and the board stands behind it. "We know this isn't easy. This is a time for our community to work together to support each other with child care and supervision," he said. "This restart plan is temporary. We expect it to be modified as soon as it is safe to do so." The district is working on ideas with local day cares, the North Ridgeville Branch Library and other entities that could help parents with child care challenges, Superintendent Roxann Ramsey-Caserio said. Almost half of respondents to a district survey said child care would be or may be a concern. With the deadline to register for the online-only option looming Thursday, many families already have taken advantage. More than 14 percent of the district's students, about 645 as of Tuesday evening, have signed up, said Director of Curriculum and Instruction David Pritt. The group of students who return to in-person instruction will find classrooms looking different. The North Ridgeville Academic Center — the newest of the district's buildings — will be used to teach many of the classes that were previously held at the high school and Ranger High-Tech Academy. "The high school does not allow us to social distance," Pritt said. "The Academic Center will fit most if not all of the high school courses on Wednesday in a truly social distant fashion." Liberty Elementary's unconventional design actually provides staff the ability to combine spaces for greater distancing, Director of Technology Paul Hieronymous added. Following state guidelines, staff will be required to wear masks in school. So will students in grades three through 12, while younger students will be "highly recommended" but not required to wear face coverings. Documented medical reasons and disabilities will be accepted to exclude students or staff from wearing a face covering. Busing will be offered, but Director of Operations Matt Yunker said bus riders will be required to wear masks and social distance. "To give you an idea, a normal school bus will seat 72 students. With the guidelines that we have in place from the health department, we will be able to get somewhere in the range of about 24 students on a bus," he said. More information on the plan is available at www.nrcs.net. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.